Packless valve



Jari. 12, 1943. l.. JfLEwls TAL PAcKLEss vALvE Filed Dec. 2v, 1941 il i? @zwaan Patented Jan. 12, 1943` UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFlcEj ,A l'

2,308,183 PACKLEss vAILvE Leonard J.- Lewis and Herman W. Oggenfuss. Wilmington, Del., assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application December 27, 1941, Serial No. 424,564

' fore utilized in lines for bi-phenyl-di-phenyl oxide 3 Claims.

This invention relates to valves, especially those for fluids diilicult to confine. More particularly, it appertains to packless valves for 'oi-phenyl and/or nii-phenyl oxide lines.

The employment of bi-phenyl and di-phenyl oxide and mixtures thereof as heat transfer media has attracted widevattention, and the number of large scaleinst'allations is rapidly increasing.

The literature on this subject is quite extensive, as evidenced by chemical abstracts XXIII 5564; XXIV.3508, 5132; XXV 4696; XXVI 5400, 5747;

I XXVII 3057; IQIVIII 2809, 3811; XQZX 853, 962,

Vand bushing soldered to 1966, Y4476; XXX 4727; and U. S. A. Patents 1,864,349, 2,000,886, 2,081,120, etc.

A mixture of bi-phenyl and di-phenyl oxide is used quite extensively in both the liquid and vapor phase for industrial heating where uniform and relatively high temperatures are desired. VUnfortunately this mixture creeps and pushes its way through the finest lcracks and |fissures, and makes necessary, for the sake of tightness, unusual precautions such as the brazing of screw-litted pipe joints, to prevent leakage.

mixtures.

How the foregoing objects and related ends are accomplished will be apparent '.from the following exposition, in which are disclosed the principleand divers embodiments of the invention, including the best mode'contemplated for carrying out the same. The written description is amplified by the accompanying drawing, inA which:

Figure 1 is an elevation View partly in section v' of the valve of vthis invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the valve bellows'supports; and

Figure 3 is an elevation view, partly in section, of the leak-proong unit comprising the valve bellows and its supports.

Referring now to Figure l of the will be seen that the valve comprises the conventional body II and bonnet I2. It has a separable lseat I3 and plug or disc I4. For convenience of illustration it is shown as having a hand wheel I5 secured by the conventional nut I6 and washer The common packed valve is worthless insuch a system. The heretofore known packless valves also have undesirable features.

The primary object of this invention was to provide an adequate packless valve for the handling-of dimcultly connable penetrating fluids conned under pressure. Other objects were to design a valve which could be repeatedly opened and closed and used for long periods of time with- I`| arrangement to the projecting upper'stem I8. Usually the hand wheel is cast with a square hole to receive the upper stem which has four milled correspondingly located ilats. A slight taper permits easy assemblage.

The stud 2| terminates well inside the bonnet and has its upper end tightly threaded into a bellows sleeve' 22. A taper 23 permits the parts to be screwed together in such a way that no slipout developing leaks incurring from non-uniform wear of the -valve plug and seat, and in which a V minimum number of points for-leakage is present. Still other objects were to produce a valve in which all the elements cooperating to prevent -nleakageither nemainstationaryaor move.. as a unit, and to produce a packless valve in which the sealing means constituted a bellows having end supports incapable `of relative movement about the axis of the bellows. Yet a further oblject was to provide a leakproof interior arrangement which could be used in valves comprising l end in a bellows bushing 3l which, together with conventional body and bonnet arrangements. A

general advance in the art, and other objects' plated. v

It has now been found that by dividing the valve stud into two parts, and enclosing the part carrying the plug in a unit comprising a sleeve a metallic bellows in the manner described in detail hereinafter, overcomes the aforementioned deficiencies of valve heretowhich will appear hereinafter, are also contemder or collar 42 fitted into a page occurs during operation of the valve.`

The stud is secured in the plug Il by the co action of its shoulder 24 and a locking nut 52B.

A smaller shoulder 26 assists in maintaining these parts in proper relation. Between these .shoulders flats are milled to receive a wrench. 1-ref-` erably a washer 21 is used between the locking nut and plug.

The stud slides and rotates freely near its lower a gas-tight gasket 32, is secured to the body by means of the'bonnet. i l The upper stem Il is threaded bonnet as shown at Il, and terminates in a shoulpart of thebellows sleeve 22.-\These parts arel secured together by means'of a retaining nut which has flat surfaces milled on its' outside vto receive awrench. The connection,- is such that when the upper stem rotates it does not cause a the bellows sleeve Aand the parts conrotation of nectedthereto. 7 Y

V\'i'.he bellows sleeve 22 and the bellowsgbashins drawing, it

,through the cess in the upper al have interlocking jaws u, as, 4s and n. when these parts are assembled in the valve. these jaws prevent the bellows sleeve from rotating 'without carrying the bellows bushing with it, or,

bellows 5l made oi' thin metal, preferably stain@ less steel or monel approximately 0.005of an inch thick, and secured at itssopposite ends to the collar 52 on the bellows sleeve, and collar 53 on the bellows bushing.

The bellows, sleeve and bushing are assembled.`

to form a uit,'the bellows being soldered to the collars which it overlaps. In one satisfactory arrangement a .borax flux is applied to the bellows on theinside near its ends, for example, along the part-which is to form its end convolu- -tions or folds, the bushing and sleeve inserted.

and the ends turned or spun over the collars. A head of silver solder is then placed along the joint and the assembly heated to melt the solder for making a permanent seal.

A drain or channel Il is cut into the bellows bushing. so that any material collecting in the side of the bellows can easily return to the valve body.

In ordinary practice the' valve is brazed or welded into the line conveying the heated iluid. It follows that there is only one possible point where it is possible for vapor leakage, and that is at the connection between the bellows bushing 3l .and the body Ifl. By making the gasket 32 of soft copper, this Joint is eectively sealed. because it is only necessary to draw the connection tighter if any leakage is; found.

The various valve parts may be made of con-- ventional materials, as will be obvious to those skilled in the art. Preferably the-body and bonnet are bronze, the sleeve and bushings of stainless or other alloy steel, the plug andseat of an alloy steel to resist wear, for example, a chrome steel, and'the stud, stem and retaining A nutsof bronze or alloysteel.

` less with-materials such as diphenyl oxide. The

present invention provides a. unit which'can be used with standard bodies- It is eminently suited for liquid or vapor systems operating at high temperatures, for example, 500-600 F. (260- 316 CJ:- It is impossible to rupture the sealingmeans by operation of the valve because the parts suPDOrting the bellows are interlocked .o prevent separate rotation. Although the bellows is securely fastened to its supporting parts, for example, by means of soldering to form a substantially closed cylinder, it cannot develop torsional strain by reason of turning forces such as would ordinarily develop should the cylindrical foot of the valve stem stick in the recess provided in the upper end of the sleeve, or the stud4 resist turning by reason of the sticking of the plug.

As manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that this invention is not limas dened in the appended claims. We claim: o s

1. A packless -valve comprising a bonnet and a body joined by screw threads, a plug bearing stud, an operating stem,v an imperforate sleeve connecting said stud andstem and arranged to permit free rotation of the stem, a bushing about said studclamped between the bonnet and body, said bushing and sleeve having interlocking jaws. to permit axial separation' and prevent relative rotation, and a iiexible metal bellows surround-f' ing said jaws and soldered to said sleeve and bushing.

2L A valve for diphenyl oxide lines comprising a. body and a bonnet threaded together, an operating stem passing through said bonnet, a plug supporting stud and a gas impervious connection ited to the specific embodiments thereof except\ .joining said stem and stud and disposed-within the body and bonnet, said connection comprising an imperforate, sleeve on the exterior of which the stem is rotatably mounted and on -the interior of which the stud is fixedly secured, a bushing encircling the stud and clamped between the body and the bonnet, and a. ilexible metal tube surrounding and secured to said sleeve and bushing in a gas impervious manner, said bushing and sleeve having jaws which interlock inside said tubing to prevent relative rotation of said sleeve and bushing but to allow axial expansion and contraction of the connection as the valve is opened and closed.

3. A valve for diphenyl oxide lines comprising a body and a bonnet .threaded together, an oper-Y I ating stem passingthrough-said bonnet, a plugf supporting studA and a sas impervious connes-- tion joining said stem and stud-and disposed within the body and bonnet, said connection comprising an imperforate sleeve in which the stem is rotatably mounted and in which the stud is iixed, a bushing through which the' stud passes, s ecured'between the body and the bonnet, and a metal bellows connecting and sealed to said sleeve and bushing, said bushing land sleeve having Jaws which interlock inside said bellows to preventrelative rotation of said sleeve and bushing and to allow axial expansion and contraction :lf the connection as the valve is opened LEONARD J. LEWIS.

HERMAN W. 

